


Don’t You Know It’s Rude To Die On Someone Else’s Grave?

by Mobbo



Category: Gintama
Genre: Gen, Ghosts, Introspection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-16 13:15:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29576664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mobbo/pseuds/Mobbo
Summary: There’s a boy sitting slumped against Tatsugorou’s grave.
Relationships: Otose | Terada Ayano & Sakata Gintoki, Otose | Terada Ayano/Terada Tatsugorou
Comments: 3
Kudos: 34





	Don’t You Know It’s Rude To Die On Someone Else’s Grave?

**Author's Note:**

> turns out I still love Gintama with my whole heart

There’s a boy slumped against his grave. At first, Tatsugorou thinks he might have gone and died there, but, perched as he is, it’s not long until he picks up on the subtle movement of the boys chest— in and out, in and out. He can’t feel the cold, anymore, but the snow gently drifting from the clouds paints the temperature well enough. 

“Oi,” he calls out, knowing there’s no point to it, “You should get up and get moving. It’s bad luck to die on someone else’s grave.” 

He isn’t sure about that, actually, but he knows it’d hurt Ayano to come and visit and find someone she was too late to help. The boy, however, continues to lie there. Rude. 

He pulls his pipe out of his mouth, leaving it to lie on the top of his grave as he kneels next to the boy. Of all the things to follow him into the afterlife, he thinks, of course it’d be his smoking habit, and then he’s distracted by the look in the boys eyes. Well. He spares a prayer that Ayano will choose today to visit. There’s blood beginning to soak into the boys clothes. 

A thought later, he’s perched back up on top of his grave, puffing anxiously from his pipe. He regrets again that he went and died— although he supposes if he was alive he would have no way to know about this freezing, dying boy.

The kid shifts, leaning his head back to stare up into the sky. It does nothing to dislodge the snow building up on his head and shoulders, and if it wasn’t for the breathing that he’s now paying careful attention to Tatsugorou would’ve thought he just died right then.

Fortune is in his favour, though— both of their favours, as he makes out Ayano picking her way through the snow, just as beautiful as she’s always been. He drags another cloud from his pipe before letting it dangle from his fingers idly. She has a plate of Manju— he recognizes his favourite in an instant, but this is one plate he doesn’t mind giving away. “Sweetheart,” he says, “I’ve brought you a stray.” 

A rude, ungrateful stray, he finds out quickly— he hadn’t minded parting with the manju, but the gall to take it without asking— and then he’s promising to look after her, and, well, Tatsugorou figures he might not be all bad after all. Even if he does call Ayano a hag. 

And Tatsugorou— well. He’s a stubborn old ghost haunting a hunk of rock with his name on it, but he can’t help feeling a little satisfied, watching Ayano leading the stray boy away, back to Snack Otose. Back home. 

He smiles, finds himself taking another drag off of his pipe, and wonders what Jirocho would think. 

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve read a number of takes on the iconic graveyard scene from both Otose and Gintoki’s point of view, and figured it’d be fun to tackle it from Tatsugorous. It’s been about two years since I’ve actually properly consumed any Gintama content so please do forgive me any egregious errors


End file.
